Elmo Accuser Recants

It is now ok to tickle your Elmo's again

. You will no longer hear jokes like, “Show me on this Elmo doll where Elmo touched you.” The man who had accused the voice of Elmo of having underage sex, now says the sex was when he was of legal age and that it was consensual. That does not change the fact that it is creepy that a man approaching 50 was into an 18 year old. It does suck that Kevin Clash had to go through all of this and I hope that the guy who accused him suffers some type of consequences. Kevin had taken a leave of absence from the show. Is the show going to let him back on the air? Are we going to read something six months from now that said Kevin never was allowed back or that the show has gone in a different direction. One more Grover friendly? Cookie Monster conspiracy?

I get the feeling that the person who wrote this is being gentle because of the gay factor. DON'T DO THAT. A 50 yr old with an 18 yr old is gross,no matter gender or orientation.Keep in mind Stodden and what's his potato.Also, I am pretty sure this kid was paid off.

In 24 hours he recanted = payout.Save the name of those lawyers if you need a slush fund. There's no price that can recoup Stone's reputation.Yes, age difference is creepy, to me. Since PBS is paid for by tax payers, whether he returns will depend upon whether the public will support his return or pressure PBS to not take him back.

Unfortunately the damage is already done. Kevin is going to be "that Elmo guy that F'd a kid" for a very long time. Considering the accuser used a Sandusky victim atty, I don't think he was bullied into recanting, either.

Of course he got paid off. Elmo guy admitted the affair already and said he waited until his paramour was " of age " .. And yes!! Many people will make light of it because they are guy which IMO is really unfortunate! The mayor of my fine city ( Portland or ) got caught with a 18 staff intern. Male. Our mayor is openly gay. There was a small recall effort and after that .. Crickets … But surely if our mayor had an affair with an 18yr old staffer who was a female , heads would roll. Oh, and the kid he was sleepin with started when he was 17 and in HS.

beguessin, I think you are correct. But the decision will be PBS's whether or not they continue to carry SS with Stone as Elmo. So if a letter of support or disapproval is sent, it should be to both Sesame St and PBS. Thanks .I always look at where do I support/complain to 🙂

I'll probably get in trouble but I'll raise some points here: in my understanding a victim usually wants justice, not money. If you had the courage to come forward with this a money settlement wouldn't work.

@Alicia – Was your mayor in a relationship? I don't think heads would roll if it was a female intern and not an affair cause we see this all the time.

Thx Alicia! I wanted to bring that up yesterday. Basically the same thing happened here in Portland and nothing happened to the Mayor. He stayed in office, but declined a second term he knew he couldn't win.

Older men liking younger side pieces is nothing new. Are we more upset with the age or the fact that he's gay?

I love the message of his movie: be passionate and follow your dreams – bc dreams do come true. Was ex jealous bc all his dreams didn't pan out and was looking for a nice big check?

When I hear "no one is calling attention to the age difference and inappriateness of this," I have to say, "False. Many are calling attention to the age difference." Because many are. It's like the only thing people are saying, not only here but everywhere I've seen the subject discussed.

Syrax – I believe Sam Adams (yes, that is his real name) started the affair when the intern was 17, although both parties said it was 18. Even though it was consensual, it caused quite the stink here in Portland.

This guy never went to the police. He went to Clash's bosees, Sesame Street Workshop and then got a lawyer. Very questionable. Some emails came out yesterday from two years ago when this guy was 21, not a teen, and after that his story changed. Either he knew he didn't have a leg to stand on with his underage allegations or he got a check but I'm thinking the first.

It doesn't bother me that a 50 y.o. was getting it on with an 18 y.o. It bothers me that the relationship begin when the accuser was 16. Yes, I understand it wasn't sexual until he was legal, but groundwork was being laid. There's nothing cute about a "chaste" romantic relationship between those two ages.

I would not tolerate any 48 year old creeping on my 16 year old. Gay or straight, son or daughter, is not the issue.

And, yes, I suspect there was a settlement between the two. Clash may have paid just to make a bitter liar go away and hopefully salvage his career. Or maybe there was truth to the accusation.

In my opinion, age differences after the younger person turns about 25 or so isn't such a big deal. It's a lot easier to believe there is mutual attraction and that both parties know what they want out of life/from each other. If the younger person is under 25ish, I find it rather disturbing, because most everyone does a lot of changing and experiences personal growth from 18-25ish. College-age and younger (especially 18) is still very childlike to me. They're not a whole person yet, their frontal lobes aren't fully developed. They're still trying to figure out who they are and what they want; how is the other person supposed to know?

I'm thinking this whole thing happened when the accuser was of legal age, but that he knew that even though everything was legal and consensual, the age difference would still be a scandal, so he made these accusations in the hopes of a payout. And that's exactly what he got most likely. As another commenter stated, actual sexual abuse/assault victims want justice, not money. It's people like this accuser that make real victims not want to come forward, because they're afraid people will doubt them.

He initially said that the sex happened when he was 16http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-11-13/entertainment/chi-elmo-accuser-20121113_1_elmo-puppeteer-accuser-recants-sexual-relationship-accuser-first

First of all PBS is supported 80% by veiwers contributions. The gov'mt ponies up very little money in contrast to donations.Secondly while the age difference bothers people, the accuser could not prove a thing and merely ruined the reputation of someone without any evidence. Here we all are skewering him because there was a "chance" he was underage but no proof was provided. So Clash had to decide is it better to fight this or make it go away? What will cost me more? Lawyers or a settlement. Guess we know which one he chose.For the record my cousin by marriage has a partner who is 20 years younger (albeit not 22).

pft. I'll side eye you right back, there is no concrete proof that he was 16, just words. To me it looks like someone was trying to create a scene to get some $$, which also seems to be the general consensus.

I'll say it again, if all parties gave the okay its not creepy. You might be into some shit that I'm not into, I wouldn't call you creepy. smh.

What happens between two consenting adults is their business alone. They knew each other before, though, and it just sounds weird whenever anyone says, "Nothing happened until he/she was legal." It seems to be a common line for these older folks to say. Do I think the accuser was abused? No. He took advantage of a situation that he knew he could get something out of. That doesn't mean I believe he was 18 when they started having physical relations. I just think the guy knew what he wanted. As soon as his meal ticket was no longer interested, he knew he had something on him. Mr. Clash was extremely stupid, horny and rich. Horrible combination for him and great for the accuser.

PBS says its funding comes from several sources, including member stations’ dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, government agencies, foundations, corporations and public citizens. The federal appropriation for 2013 is $445 million. The Nieman Journalism Lab says most public radio stations receive only 10 percent of their funding from federal money.

$445M in tax payers money that WE don't get to write off . We don't have $445m anymore, that's the real problem. Sad but it will get straightened out, no choice.

Just pointing something out. It really isn't uncommon for young gay guys in their teens to be drawn to someone who is older. And it can be a good thing as long as the younger one isn't left worse than he started. It can be romantic, but most times it is more like a mentor thing and it makes the young gay feel really good about himself which he may not have been feeling at all before. I speak from experience. And age difference aside, this Kevin guy is pretty good looking, 50 or not. This is really a non-scandal and I feel bad that the younger guy felt he needed to do something like this.

i don't know why people are so disgusted with the age thing, people seem fine when an older woman dates a younger man or an older man dates a younger woman but if an older guy dates a younger guy it's gross? why? b/c they're two men? when my friend first came out he was 19 and he was seeing a man in his 40s.

Just adding my 2 cents that age difference isn't always a big deal. It's only creepy, really, if you ONLY date teenagers.I've known gay & straight guys like that–they get older, their sex partners all stay the same age.

I wouldn't have any problem with Courtney Stodden's relationship with that old dude, if it didn't seem like there is something terribly WRONG with her,in how she was raised; her over-sexualization was encouraged by her parents, etc. She is not of any kind of mature enough mind to make sound choices. It's like she was traded from family to family, like the old old days, but with spandex, hairspray, and drugs to keep her compliant.

So, succinctly, I guess I would say it depends on the maturity/sanity of the youth, and the non-perv/sanity of the elder.

Ablake: The issue wasn't that he and Clash had a "thang goin on" but that his accuser said it started when he was underage. Then with the settlement it looks like he was admitting guilt to that accusation to folks. Unlike the portion of people here who will discuss and read more about it, the general public will take the first thing they hear and run with it. Hence a ruined reputation.

I'm the last person to defend a pedofile (or whatever they may be called at the specific age according to those in the know) but for some reason I feelthis was a jilted lover looking for money.

I'm sorry, maybe its from watching too much Judge Judy as a child with my gamma growing up, but if Elmo doesn't sue for slander I'm throwin a side eye. You have quite arguably the most popular children's icon in the last 30 years being involved in an underage sex scandal and you're just going to release a statement? I mean even if this accuser has no money like that, his reputation is now tarnished with the "well maybe…" aspect. Famous people who don't sue for slander, and just write it off with a simple released statement…I mean it's not an admission of guilt. But it's definitely something close to it.

If it was totally legal, SS would have released a statement saying as much and that they stand behind Clash and look forward to his return to work, etc., etc. This didn't happen. The sudden recant screams pay out and a possible Clash "retirement" in the coming months.

I think the reason why Clash won't file for slander like some people are saying is because their might have been some flirting, making out second-base stuff that wasn't all out sex that could have occurred when the accuser (for lack of better word) was underage. He might not want to go to court and have this or other things with other people become public knowledge, which it would be if there was a court case. This is just my opinion I'm not a lawyer, I've just dated them.

Think about it. KC could have sued him and it would have spent MONTHS dragged through the press- day after day…. Or, even if KC didn't sue, this other guy would have written a book, done interviews, etc.. Either way, it wouldn't have been 2 short blip stories. It would have been dragged out. KC bought the guy's silence about their relationship with the hope it would soon fade away.

On another note, sex with an 18 year old is LEGAL. We may not like it but tough shit. I think anal is disgusting but I sure as hell wouldn't tell any of you that it was creepy and you are perverted if you choose to engage in what is a LEGAL sex act.

Courtney Stodden was 17 and underage. Her mother had to sign a special consent to allow the marriage because it was otherwise illegal. If we are using the prefrontal cortex argument, 18 year olds shouldn't be allowed to drive, join the armed services, live alone…etc.. At some point people have to be responsible for their own actions (however flawed); as a society, we have decided that point is 18.

(Personally I think most people are up in arms about the guy on guy thing more than anything…how DARE Elmo be gay!)

When I first heard this story I was so sad. I loved the documentary and you just knew this had to be so painful for him. I have no doubt one of his immediate thoughts when this all broke was worrying about the kids who love Elmo & the effect a scandal like this could have.

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